Eu

Tuesday

James Heale

Migration, the customs union & a £40bn black hole?

14 min listen

There are reports that the OBR will downgrade Britain’s productivity growth forecasts, increasing the size of the black hole facing the Chancellor at the end of the month. This continues the spate of bad news for the Chancellor on the economy – but can we trust the figures? James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick Gibbons to talk about what this means ahead of the budget, whether anger over the money wasted on asylum hotels can be linked to the cost-of-living crisis and what Rachel Reeves is doing in Saudi Arabia this week. Plus: is a debate over the customs union really what Britain wants right now? Produced by Patrick

Saturday

Lloyd Evans

Obsolete message: Led By Donkeys in conversation, reviewed

The founding members of Led By Donkeys granted a public interview last Thursday at a theatre in Walthamstow. They were questioned by Guardian columnist Zoe Williams. Seated on squashy sofas, the four men looked like an ageing boyband who met at public school. James Sadri, suave and handsome, seems to be the boss. Ollie Knowles is the ebullient charmer. Ben Stewart, who scowls as he talks, is the grumpy technical wizard. And Will Rose, who says very little, seems to be the token northerner. The Donkeys specialise in harmless political pranks. Their approach is new but their content is stale. In their latest stunt, they projected a short film about Donald Trump and Jeffrey

Thursday

Owen Matthews

Moldova has been saved from Russian influence, but at what cost?

The European Union, guardian and champion of democracy, rightly takes a dim view when ruling parties ban their opponents, refuse to open polling stations in areas likely to vote against them, censor opposition news channels and allow a large staff of foreign election monitors to police social media in the run-up. If Serbia, say, or Georgia tried systematic election rigging of this kind, Brussels would be the first to call foul and disregard the result as illegitimate. But when it’s the EU that’s running the interference, as in Moldova this week, the rules are apparently quite different. This week the pro-EU party of Maia Sandu, Moldova’s President and a former

Wednesday

James Heale

Labour goes on the Farage offensive

12 min listen

As James Heale writes online for the Spectator today, ‘two issues continue to plague the government’: how best to attack Nigel Farage. and how to frame an incrementalist approach to policy ‘when the national mood favours radical change’. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister responsible for UK-EU relations, attempted to tackle both today as he came to the Spectator to set out Labour’s Europe strategy. Labour are pursuing ‘pragmatic alignment’ – what they argue is greater co-operation when beneficial to the British interest. But what does this mean? James joins Michael Simmons on the podcast to unpack the speech. And, on a day when Reform have claimed another defector (this

Saturday

Natasha Feroze

Michael Gove on Starmer vs the workers: why Labour needs to learn to love Brexit

20 min listen

Spectator editor Michael Gove joins Natasha Feroze to talk about his cover article this week: ‘Starmer vs the workers’, the real Brexit betrayal. Michael puts forward his arguments for why Labour should learn to love Brexit, should take back control to protect British jobs and industries, and could use Brexit as an opportunity to harness AI and science & technology. Plus, has the UK-EU deal brought back ‘happy memories’ for the former prominent Brexiteer? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

Tuesday

James Heale

What has reaction been to the UK-EU deal?

18 min listen

Fallout continues from yesterday’s summit and the announcement of a deal between the UK and EU – or is it fair to call it ‘fallout’ as, despite criticism over the deal from Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, has the public got Brexit fatigue?  James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick Gibbons to talk about the reaction to the deal. Fisheries has taken up most discussion but Michael points out a lesser talked about commitment to energy policy. And, with the government keen to talk about it in tandem with recent deals with India and the US – and Gulf states soon, according to Rachel Reeves this morning – what’s the

Monday

James Heale

EU-UK reset: ‘brexit betrayal’?

15 min listen

As EU leaders arrive in London for a summit hosted by Keir Starmer, there has been an announcement that the UK and EU have reached a deal. The UK has extended its agreement on EU fishing boats in British waters, while in return fewer checks on British food exports are expected. There have also been discussions about a defence pact, reduced tuition fees for EU students and access to electronic passport gates for British holiday-makers.  While we await further details, deputy political editor James Heale and director of the Centre for European Reform Charles Grant join Lucy Dunn to unpack what we know so far. Will the deal be an

Thursday

Olenka Hamilton

Is Poland’s revival a mirage?

In 1988, when I was six months old, my British father and Polish mother took me to meet my family in Krakow. My parents brought an extra suitcase filled with disposable nappies because such luxuries weren’t sold on the other side of the Iron Curtain. At the time, there was only one shop in Krakow that sold foreign goods, but my father was pleased to discover that a gallon of whisky could be bought for only $8. He was a member of the House of Lords and, I’m told, we were trailed for our entire stay. Everywhere we went, a large Polski Fiat 125 driven by a suited man followed

Monday

Gavin Mortimer

Europe should listen to America’s uncomfortable truths

The response in Europe to J.D Vance’s speech at the Munich Security Conference last Friday was one of predictable outrage. Media outlets described it as a ‘rant’ or a ‘sermon’, and politicians and diplomats queued up to criticise the vice-president of America. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, accused the Trump administration of ‘try[ing] to pick a fight with us, and we don’t want to a pick a fight with our friends’. Apparently, there were ‘dry laughs’ from some of the audience when Vance talked about ‘shared’ values. European diplomats have laughed at Trump before, notably in 2018 at the UN General Assembly, when

Monday

Katy Balls

Trump vs Europe

15 min listen

Trump’s tariff spree continues… After making good on his election promise to opt for another round of tariffs – a 25 per cent tax on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent levy on Chinese goods – Trump has now turned his attention to Europe. In an interview with the BBC, the president said that while the UK would likely avoid tariffs, the EU might not be so lucky and described the trade relationship with Europe as an ‘atrocity’. This comes on the day that Keir Starmer is in Brussels and will likely be trying to smooth the road ahead of a post-Brexit ‘reset’. Can Labour continue to

Thursday

Gavin Mortimer

Calin Georgescu has exposed the rotten European Union

To the great surprise of very few the European Court of Human Rights this week rejected an appeal by Calin Georgescu to overturn last month’s annulment of Romania’s presidential election. The Eurosceptic Georgescu had won the first round of November’s election, but days before the second round Romania’s Constitutional Court cancelled the result because of alleged Russian interference on social media. In its decision, the ECHR said that Georgescu’s appeal fell outside its jurisdiction. That was the bad news for Georgescu. The good news was the publication of a poll this week that puts him firmly in front to win the election when it is re-run in May. He is

Thursday

Melissa Kite

The Irish laugh in the face of EU regulations

Our house was suddenly shrouded in a thick, grey mass of cloud and it felt like a sea fog had descended. The Irish could not give a damn for rules and regs and no one is going to tell them what they can set fire to To some extent it had, but the fog grew in density until it wasn’t feasible that this was coming off the sea. The builder boyfriend came in from the stable yard and reported an acrid smell in the rain. This is what happens when fog descends. People burn their most difficult and illegal waste when visibility is low. ‘It’s the plasticky dew,’ said the

Saturday

James Heale

Would Brexit voters really accept the return of freedom of movement?

19 min listen

New research this week suggested that a majority of Brexit voters would accept the return of freedom of movement in exchange for access to the EU single market. The poll, conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), found that 54% of Brexit voters – and 68% of all respondents – would accept this. Facing their own changing domestic concerns, how close can the UK and EU governments really get? Could Defence hold the key for collaboration? And how much is this driven by a more volatile geopolitical landscape ahead of Trump’s return as US president? James Heale speaks to Anand Menon, director of the think-tank UK in a

Monday

Cindy Yu

Can the EU fend off the threat of Chinese electric cars?

30 min listen

The EU and China are in the foothills of a trade war. After a seven month investigation, the European Commission has announced tariffs of up to 38 per cent on electric cars from China, citing that they’ve found ‘subsidies in every part of the supply chain’. In retaliation, China has ramped up its own investigations into imports from the EU. This, of course, comes after the US has announced its own 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric cars. Listeners will know that Chinese electric cars are becoming ever more competitive. In just three years, the value of the EU’s imports of Chinese EVs have surged tenfold – from $1.6

Thursday

Svitlana Morenets

Georgia is on the brink of revolution

For weeks, the Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi has looked like a battlefield. Thousands of protestors, mostly in their twenties, have been met by riot police armed with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. On the face of it, the protest is about a new repressive bill in its final reading in the Georgian parliament. In reality, it’s the struggle between a government that is turning towards Moscow, and a citizenry who by and large believe the future lies with Europe. The crunch point comes next week when the Georgian parliament will vote on a bill which, if passed, would label as a ‘foreign agent’ any political or civil society

Thursday

The Spectator

Letters: the admirable strength of Ukrainians

The bravery of Ukraine Sir: Few articles could resonate as strongly as that of Svitlana Morenets (‘Scrambled logic’, 20 April). She brings the agony of her brave countrymen and women home to us, and the effect of dithering and equivocation by the West. As a volunteer with a refugee charity, I weekly admire the character of our Ukrainian clients, mainly older ladies who spend their time bringing us delicious homemade cakes, volunteering in charity shops and signing up to English classes at the local college. Tom Stubbs Surbiton, Surrey Well out of the EU Sir: I have huge respect for Lord Sumption as one of the few people with the

Wednesday

Olenka Hamilton

Poland’s battle with the EU over migrant quotas

Another day, another spat between Warsaw and Brussels. This time, Poland has declined to participate in the European Union’s latest plan to relocate migrants and asylum seekers within the bloc, with countries who refuse being expected to pay €20,000 per refugee. Hungary has also voted against the pact, while Malta, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria have quietly abstained.  On 15 June, the Polish parliament (the Sejm) went further and passed a resolution opposing the plan, with the ruling conservative Law and Justice party (PiS) announcing a national referendum on the matter. The referendum will take place on the same day as the general election in either October or November this year.  ‘We

Monday

Katy Balls

Sunak is taking a gamble on the Protocol

Westminster is back to the Brexit wars this week. Once again, a Conservative leader is trying to finalise a deal with Brussels while facing warnings from their own side that it could prove a compromise too far. On Friday, there was much fanfare that a new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol could be imminent. Rishi Sunak flew to Northern Ireland to meet with the DUP – where talks proved amicable. Then the Prime Minister met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the fringes of the Munich security conference. However, since then a string of Tory MPs have spoken publicly to raise their concerns and Sunak has been

Monday

Katy Balls

Is Sunak heading for trouble on the Protocol?

There has been excited chatter in recent days that a breakthrough on the Northern Ireland Protocol could be imminent. Last week, the UK government and Brussels agreed a new technical arrangement on sharing trade data, which was heralded as a ‘new basis’ for talks, following a meeting between EU chief negotiator Maros Sefcovic, and James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary. Since then, there has been speculation that the two sides could enter the ‘tunnel’ – the intensive end stage of negotiations – as soon as this week. There is a desire on both sides to find an agreement on changes to the Protocol could ahead of the 25th anniversary of the

Saturday

Nicholas Farrell

Qatargate has exposed the staggering hypocrisy of the European left

Ravenna, Italy Everyone in Britain has focused on what the Qatargate corruption scandal reveals about the European Union – but not on what it tells us about the European left. The fact is that all those so far accused of taking bribes from Qatar and its ally Morocco are left-wing MEPs – or former MEPs – and their assistants, or else bosses of left-wing human rights charities or trade union leaders. Most are Italians who are members, or ex-members, of Italy’s post-communist party – the Partito Democratico (PD). The hypocrisy of these prize exponents of the Euro left – some of whom, according to leaked transcripts of their interrogations, have already